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An Egyptian man looks across the Nile River as the downtown Cairo headquarters of the National Democratic Party, Egypt's ruling party, burns on Jan. 29, 2011. Eygptians defied a military curfew Saturday and continued to protest against Hosni Mubarak's regime as the army and newly formed neighborhood militias struggled to prevent looting.

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Mubarak named Omar Suleiman, previously the head of Egypt's intelligence services, his vice president Saturday. He also named Ahmed Shafiq, an Air Force veteran and formerly the minister in charge of civil aviation, his new prime minister. Above, Suleiman meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres in November 2010.

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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has announced that he plans to dismiss the government on Saturday, but it's not clear that this is enough to calm the throngs of protesters still demonstrating in Egypt's streets across the calling for Mubarak's removal. There are still conflicting reports as to where the country's military stands: Reuters reported Friday evening that the Army has taken control of Cairo's main Tahrir Square and dispersed the gathered crowds. Here, a demonstrator throws a fuel bomb at anti-riot police vehicles in the northern city of Suez on Jan. 28.

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Egyptian demonstrators stand near a burnt-out riot police vehicle in Cairo on Friday evening in defiance of the 6 pm curfew. With violence liable to continue in the days ahead, officials in Washington are considering how to respond to the turmoil overtaking one of its most important regional allies.

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Tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets on Friday in a "Day of Wrath" intended to oust President Hosni Mubarak. Above, locals are soaked by a police water cannon in front of the l-Istiqama Mosque in Cairo, on Jan. 28.

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Egyptian riot place employed batons and water cannons on Friday to prevent demonstrators from gathering. Hundreds were arrested over the course of the day, and one protester was reportedly killed in Suez.

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Riot police used tear gas to quell protests, and were joined by the Egyptian military in the streets of Cairo. The government has imposed a 6 pm curfew on Friday, but few protesters seemed inclined to heed it.

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Egyptian protests directed against President Hosni Mubarak's regime began on Jan. 25 and were initially limited to Cairo, but Suez has emerged as a fierce battleground between demonstrators and security forces. Here, protesters throw Molotov cocktails at police in Suez on Jan. 27.

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Dissident and former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei speaks to the press upon returning to Cairo from Vienna on Jan. 27. ElBaradei, who plans to take part in Friday's protests following morning prayers -- which organizers say will be the biggest demonstration yet -- warned Mubarak's regime that "There's no going back."

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Demonstrations in Egypt continued on Wednesday, though they were smaller than those the day before. The Associated Press, citing unnamed Egyptian security officials, reported that 860 protesters had been arrested since major protests began Tuesday morning, roughly two-thirds of them in Cairo. Above, a protester throws a rock at riot police assembled in central Cairo.

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The aftershocks of Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution reached Egypt today, as thousands took to the streets in several cities to protest against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Above, demonstrators clash with police in central Cairo.

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The demonstrators hope that a peaceful show of popular discontent could delegitimize Mubarak, who has been in power for 30 years under perpetually renewed "emergency laws." Above, Egyptians pray in downtown Cairo as part of their protest.

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Clashes between security officials and protesters did break out, however. As many as six people have been reportedly killed across the country. Above, a wounded Egyptian demonstrator lies on the ground.

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The demonstrators had arranged their protests to coincide with "Police Day," a national holiday in Egypt. Cairo's normally traffic-clogged streets were largely emptied out for the confrontations between protesters and police.

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The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist Egyptian political opposition group that has been subject to particular repression by the Mubarak government, did not officially endorse the demonstrations in the run-up to the day of protest, though some members of the group did participate. Above, Egyptian demonstrators pray in central Cairo.

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More than 90,000 Egyptians signed upon Facebook to participate in the protests. While the estimated number of demonstrators in Cairo only reached several thousand, demonstrators greatly outnumbered police.

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Mubarak has relied on security forces to maintain order to an extraordinary degree throughout his rule. Yet today's protests were the largest and most organized civil unrest the police have had to face in decades.

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Protesters expressed their anger at their country's endemic corruption and shambolic economy, as well as the lack of free and fair elections. "Where are you freedom?" protesters in Ismailia shouted. Above, protesters gather in central Cairo.

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Tahrir Square, the main site of protest in Cairo -- the capital's hub of political and economic life, as well as the most popular area for tourists -- was chosen for its symbolic resonance. Above, demonstrators gather in defiance of police.